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Sandra Yi ReportingSouth Jordan's Police Chief is spreading a message he hopes will save people's lives.
Dan Pearson says he owes his life to one thing: his motorcycle helmet. Now he hopes his story will help save others.
Dan Pearson , South Jordan Police Chief: “The chances of being in a motorcycle accident are very, very great.”
Pearson, an avid rider, knows what he's talking about. Last fall he was riding his motorcycle on Highway 89, north of Afton, Wyoming. A truck pulling a horse trailer tried to pass him on the shoulder. That was a near fatal mistake.
Dan Pearson: "By the time I saw that he was trying to pass us, or tried to get out the way at all, the spare tire on his trailer caught me, and I lost control and that was the end of it."
His bike skidded more than 300 feet from the point of impact. Witnesses say Pearson landed on his head when he was thrown off his bike.
Dan Pearson: "This injury would have been a fatal, a fatal blow if I hadn't had the helmet on."
Pearson is the South Jordan Police Chief. He's lost three friends to motorcycle accidents in the past two years, one of them, Sandy Police Chief Sam Dawson. All three suffered head injuries. None were wearing helmets.
Dan Pearson: "But to enjoy that freedom and what it does to families that have to cope with things after you're dead, you know, that's really tragic."
Only three states, Colorado, Iowa and Illinois, don't have mandatory helmet laws. Here in Utah anyone under 18 must wear a helmet.
Pearson says it's a small price to pay for your life. He says his scuffed helmet and torn leather jacket remind him of that every day.
Pearson suffered some broken bones and bruises in the accident. He sold his bike but hopes to get back on one soon.
